Running out of room: How to keep more data efficiently accessible

The WSJ posted a column Running Out of Room which describes the problem companies face trying to store more data: they're getting squeezed by both space and cost constraints.

Not only is reliable cost efficient storage a necessity, but more importantly is the need for effective search to find exactly what you are looking for in ever growing digital archives.

It's a given today's storage choices offer low-cost options, but these systems typically only address half the problem. Now that we have nearly infinite storage resources, how do we find the "needle in the haystack"? Better search technologies, coupled with low cost reliable storage is the key. Sonian is working on advanced techniques to make searching billions of stored objects more efficient for the user that needs quick answers and "actionable intelligence" from the information archive.

Educational web seminar for Novell GroupWise on Cloud Computing

Sonian sponsored a web seminar to help the Novell GroupWise community accelerate their knowledge about Cloud Computing. During this event Messaging, Collaboration and Cloud Computing expert, Greg Arnette (CTO of Sonian) reviewed the potentials for GroupWise and Cloud Computing. The seminar also discussed how Cloud Computing is transforming how email archiving and data management is addressed today and into the future. Rated by many participants from the GroupWise community as "one of the most informative webinars in the past 2 years."

Access the on-demand webinar here.

TTCO - True TCO Analysis for SaaS comparison

SaaS hosted email archiving delivered from a cloud compute platform is the right combination for lowest cost and highest performing service. But when comparing SaaS versus software or appliance based solutions it's not as easy to compare true total cost of ownership. Installed solutions have indirect costs beyond the software license fees and hardware invoice. You can debate the budget aportions to alot to onpremise email archiving, but you can't deny that there is some tangible indirect cost that needs to be factored to get a true apples to apples comparison.

True ROI and TCO is comprised of factroring some or all of the items below, plus the software fees, maintenance fees, and hardware costs:

1. People cost
2. Bandwidth cost
3. Maintainence cost
4. Hardware cost
5. Electric cost
6. Downtime cost
7. Redundancy cost
8. Software license cost
9. Cost of floor space used
10. Response time

Sonian is hiring. We are seeking a EC2/Xen Master for Sys Admin role

Sonian is looking to hire an experienced Linux Administrator to join our team.

We are looking for a highly motivated, goal-oriented individual who will be responsible for designing, building and maintaining our Amazon EC2 infrastructure.

The successful candidate should be a flexible, highly independent worker as well as an excellent team player, and able to work efficiently under tight deadlines.

Responsibilities:

• Design, build and maintain EC2/Xen machine images and instances.
• Design and implement unattended installation and monitoring tools.
• Develop procedures for backups and fail over.
• Assist in profiling and optimizing activities with developers.
• Produce high quality system administration documents.
  

Requirements:

• At least two years Linux experience with a firm grasp on the entire system. Gentoo experience is preferred.
• Experience in virtual and cloud-based instances.
• Xen/EC2 experience is preferred.
• Experience in block file systems, FUSE file systems and distributed file systems.
• Experience in firewall design.
• Good understanding of automated installation, maintenance and monitoring tools. Puppet experience preferred.
• Good understanding of internet protocols.
• Excellent organization and communication skills.
• Ability and desire to learn new technologies quickly.
  

Sonian is based in Boston, MA, and this position allows for telecommuting. We support remote workers.
We're creating a web service that will help millions of people manage their email inboxes more effectively. Send your resume to jobs (at) sonian.net.